Another vanity to heart
Welcome to the we heart this version of MTV’s “Cribs”! We were thrilled with the enthusiastic response to A Tale of Two Vanities here on the site, and thanks to links from the likes of Temptalia and Makeup and Beauty Blog, our humble vanities found a little bit of internet fame!
Of course, how could we not heart a pretty piece of furniture, often vintage, where one can make themselves up and organize and store their beauty collection? Damn straight, we love vanities! And once we shared our little slices of heaven at home, we found you guys wanted to see more! We do too. So send us a picture of your vanity or special primping area (bright, in focus photos, please) and we’ll share them with the wht readers! And if we use your picture, as thanks, we’ll send you a wht-approved beauty product to add to your arsenal.
Today we are sharing wht member Erin’s elegant, silver vanity. She says “So far, I’ve been using it in my living room, as an accent piece, but after seeing yours, I may have to change that! I thought it looked like a desk, but the antique dealer said the elderly woman she bought it from used it as a dressing table. She said it was from the 30′s and I think I paid $189.00 for it.”
Great find, Erin! Love it as a console/desk, but if you decide to move it to the bedroom and make a true vanity with it, please send us photos of the makeover.
Readers, how would you take this gorgeous piece of furniture from a living room table to a bedroom vanity? Add a bench or a chair? Add more silver touches or a contrasting tone? Share your design inspirations with us.
Filed in: beauty & fashion,giveaways,home & living
It’s beautiful right where you have it, Erin – I love your accents on it! But if you were to move it and make it a true vanity, I could see it with an ornate silver pedestal mirror, or one of those pretty silver old fashioned hairbrush sets on a tray…so many possibilites!!
I think a bench that you could tuck underneath it would be great. I have the same thing (so check out the link above). It’s good because you can tuck it in vertically, or leave it out horizontally. Paint the legs to match the vanity and upholster the top in a fun fabric.
I’d also like to see some white and bright pieces on top (maybe some colors that are used in whatever fabric you choose for the bench). I’d personally let the vanity be the only silver piece, except for a silver pedestal mirror (good idea Mel). It looks like you can even reuse the mirror you have, just move it a bit lower.
You know what I really love about this? The pulls, they’re so vintage, I adore them!
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Thanks Tyna, for the great write up, I only wish I had some makeup to showcase with it, like yours! Stef and Mel, great ideas! I would love to get a vintage vanity set to go with it, and I love the idea of a little bench like yours Stef, that I can tuck in. The handles were one of my favorite parts too. So many times, the pieces I find have the hardware painted with the piece, so I love that they kept the original hardware on it untouched!
Good thought on the accent colors, Stef – I was thinking that too – was just rushing through my thoughts as I was writing my original comments at work whoops! My first thought is to go with red…but I also tend to overdo red – probably any bright or deep color would work beautifully.
Nice re-purposing. My brother had a desk just like this one–I believe it was a hand-me-down from a grandfather or uncle or someone. It was not painted and was used as a desk. I had often wished that he (or we, as in “our family) still had it because I loved the lines (if not the finish). This silver looks oh-so ’30′s Hollywood Regency. A big, over-the-top mirror would look fab along with a deco “X” stool. Hmmm…a little zebra print upholstry on that stool…
Anyway, what is a vanity if not a desk for applying makeup? So long as your stool or chair is high enough it is perfect!
Ok, this must be a sign. I was just talking to my mom about this piece, and our little discussion, and she told me when we moved into my room, she remembered there being some sort of stamp on the back about it about it being a vanity…sure enough, I just checked the back of it and it says “stamped vanity!” Now, I really think I should be letting it live up to it’s true potential and give it some makeup to house! : )
Thanks for the tip sherrishera….”deco X stool” sounds fabulous!
Erin, that IS a sign! But I wish it would have been stamped “become a we heart this tester and fill me with makeup!”
Lol, Stef!!! Yep, I definitely think I’m going to need those drawers soon! : )
I think you should add a chair that’s more feminine in style to off set the semi-masculine lines of the vanity. For chairs, I suggest a black chair with a colored fabric seat of your choice; I’d personally use a turquoise blue or a bright purple. I’d put a table lamp on each side and anchor it with a mirror above it.
A suggestion that’s cheaper is changing the knobs. Sometimes a knob change can really change a piece.
Another option is painting it a different color. A cream color would look beautiful on that vanity.
I love all these vanities and vanity could-bes.It really is reinforcing my desire to have a vanity. Right now, my make up is stored in a 99-cent store utensil holders a top of a fold-up dinner tray. The best I could do, right now, might be to buy one of those plastic drawers on wheels and decorate it. The point, though, is it would be just mine!
Silver, I love it.. I may have to start going to house/estate sales again.. because that has been where we have found some family gems over the past.. Growing up we had amazing furniture.. Some of the coolest and unique pieces came from them. Like a baby grand piano. Personlly, I like old furniture.. They have so much style and great workmanship..
wow, you guys are so lucky to have vintage stores in the US. I would never ever find something so pretty and at that price where I live. Love the desk, would look even more stunning once dressed with decorative makeup pieces, especially glass perfume bottles on silver trays.
This will clearly make a gorgeous vanity! I think that I would just add a really plush bench. I got one that I can use to store things. All that you need to add beyond that are great organization accessories and a beautiful mirror. I would go with a round, ornate mirror to contrast the squareness of the vanity. Best of luck!
I love this piece. There was a time when I went to estate sales a lot. During this time, I did see a vanity similar to this. It had a glass on top of it to protect the wood. There are certain eras that people put glass on top of furniture. Most of the vanities I saw had benches. Although personally, I would like something with some back support.
Best of luck and please post pictures when you are done!
I am so glad I ran across these pictures. Erin, this is a fabulous piece of furniture and I am excited that you are going to use it for a vanity. I too look forward to the new pictures once your “makeover” is complete. I need to get back into antique shopping..I am looking for something very similar and need a lot of storage space too. I adore the drawers on the vanity and the color is divine. I love the idea of an animal (zebra) print bench just for some flair. Then again, I would love to see the silver vanity tray and brush set too..so classic and elegant. The possibilities are endless and I can’t wait to see how your idea’s and all come to fuition :) Good Luck and thanks for sharing this wonderful piece of furniture!